


#19 Tarnished Legacy

by gpadow



Category: Gunsmoke, Matt/Kitty
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-09-20
Updated: 2011-09-20
Packaged: 2017-10-23 21:54:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/255417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gpadow/pseuds/gpadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>father and son soldiers, action and guilt</p>
            </blockquote>





	#19 Tarnished Legacy

**Author's Note:**

> This story respectfully features the characters and canon from the television series, Gunsmoke, which aired in 1955. They do not belong to me.

#19 Tarnished Legacy

Apr. 5th, 2010 at 5:56 PM

 

"Here it is, Miss Kitty, the Millers Falls catalog."

Wilbur Jonas handed Kitty Russell the catalog, and then brought a pair of boots to a man looking over some belt buckles.

"Try these for size, mister."

He looked back at Kitty as she flipped through the catalog.

"Tools. I never knew there were so many," the redhead pouted.

"Oh, I marked the page for you, Miss Kitty. The corner is turned down where the Langdon Miter Box is described. It's the brand new cast iron one."

Kitty studied the contraption and said, "I guess that's the one, then."

"Remember, Mr. Jonas, don't tell anyone I ordered this thing."

"I won't say a word, Miss Kitty. Shall I put it on your account?

Oh, and I almost forgot, it's that time again. The Marshal said he'd be stopping in this week to place his usual order when the War Department voucher arrives. Did you want to add anything to it?"

"Probably, Mr. Jonas. Remember to put it on my account and wrap it with those work shirts and pants when they come in."

"Of course, Jonas smiled.  
I'm sure it will be the usual supply of ammo and Arbuckles, and the like."

"And six new work shirts; five red and one blue."

"Plus, the shopkeeper winked over his spectacles, One white dress shirt and black tie."

"I'll take care of the invoice, Miss Kitty," the man whispered.

Kitty smiled at their little conspiracy and then handed him the catalog.

"Hello Kitty," Matt Dillon said as he stepped up to the counter and tipped the rim of his hat.  
"Doing some shopping are you?"

"Good morning, Matt.  
Just checking on an order. Thought I'd have some breakfast if you'd care to join me."

"Breakfast? That was hours ago. But I'll join you for lunch," the big man grinned.

He retrieved an envelope from his vest pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper.  
"Here you are, same order as always."

"Thank you, Mr. Jonas," Kitty smiled.

She moved close to Matt, and he placed a hand on her back as they turned to leave.

"Good bye, Miss Kitty. Marshal."

Wilbur Jonas almost forgot the man who was trying on boots.  
"How do they fit, mister?"

"I'll take them. I'm gonna break them in, so wrap up my old ones."

As Mr. Jonas went back behind the counter, the stranger walked over to the window to watch Matt and Kitty as they entered Delmonico's.  
"Looking to be another hot day. New in town, mister? Didn't catch your name."

"Banks. Ross Banks."

The man walked up to Wilbur Jonas and placed money on the counter before picking up the package.

"I'll get your change, Mr. Banks."

"I want to start an account. I'll be back later to order a few more things."

Before Jonas could reply, the stranger was gone.

The shopkeeper retrieved a ledger from under the counter and began to write the man's name and enter his credit when he suddenly froze.  
He looked up, and then hurried out onto the boardwalk in time to see Ross Banks, the former commanding officer of Ft. Dodge, enter the Long Branch Saloon.  
###

"When did you see him, Doc?" Kitty asked, fanning herself, as Sam placed a beer in front of the old physician.

"I was riding back from the Roniger place when Matt came along the south road, Kitty. He was heading over to Ft. Dodge. Didn't say when he'd be back."

"Probably not til tomorrow morning, Kitty frowned. There is some big meeting and dinner to formally introduce the new Indian agent to the territory, and some new officers who arrived from back east."

Doc sipped his beer then rubbed his hand over his mustache.  
"Fresh-faced young officers. Probably too young to remember the War. Wonder how long it will take them to fit in to life on the frontier.

Should be good for business, Kitty."

"I don't know, Curly.  
The last time there were major changes at the fort, all my girls fell in love and I ended up with a lot of broken furniture."

"By thunder, there did seem to be a rash of weddings there for a while. I wonder how they're all doing now."

"Probably raising a passle of cadets," the redhead quipped.

"Speaking of proposals, I have something to tell you, Doc," Kitty teased.

The crusty doctor held his glass of beer in mid air and also held his breath.  
After a long pause he finally exclaimed, "Well, don't keep me in suspense! Are you going to ask me to give you away?"

Kitty laughed and said, "Sergeant Holly wrote me from Colorado. He asked me again to marry him.  
It was a pretty good offer, too."

"Oh, for Pete's sake!"

"Excuse me, Miss Kitty," a man stood beside their table, hat in hand.

"You may not remember me. I heard you mention Sergeant Holly's name. Mine is Ross Banks. Used to be Lieutenant Colonel Banks."

Kitty and Doc looked at the stranger as if trying to put his face with the name they both recognized.

"Of course, Kitty said. Please join us. What are you drinking, Colonel?"

The man took a seat, aware that Doc was studying him. "It's mister now. Red wine, please."

Kitty turned to look back at Sam and parroted, "Red wine, please."  
The saloon owner turned back and smiled. "What brings you to Dodge, Mr. Banks?"

"My son. He was recently commissioned and is assigned to Ft. Dodge. I haven't seen him in a long time," the man said sadly.

Sam put a stemmed glass and a bottle of wine in front of Banks, as the man reached into his pocket.

Kitty put her hand up and said, "First drink's on the house. Welcome home."

"A glass perhaps, Miss Kitty, but I intended to buy the whole bottle. Won't you join me? You too, Doctor."

"I'm good with my beer," Doc said, still staring.

"Me, too.  
Maybe another time. We can toast to your reunion with your son."

"You know, I remember a time when you invited Matt and me out to the fort. You and your wife were gracious hosts and the wine was excellent.

I'm afraid this won't be up to your standards, but next time I'll make certain to have Sam bring up the good stuff."

"That was a long time ago, Kitty. A lifetime ago."

###

It was Matt's feet that said hello.  
Kitty never heard him come into the room and get undressed.  
Once beside her under the sheet he rubbed his feet along her legs in a familiar caress.

He sculpted himself to her moist body and hovered over her breasts like a hummingbird.

Like a cat staking out her territory, Kitty's fingernails softly stroked his back and shoulders.

Matt slid up to kiss her tenderly, and their heads leaned into each other's neck and shoulders.

Without speaking, Kitty turned around and snuggled against him, curling inside his curved body, as Matt's knees lifted hers into a comforting cradle.

She felt his sweet, warm breath on her neck as his strong, gentle hands found her breasts and stomach.

Without really touching his skin, Kitty ran her hands over the fine hair of his arms as they both slipped into sleep.

 

###

Wearing only Matt's blue shirt, Kitty sat on the edge of the bed.  
In the dim light she studied his naked form and the veins that ran over his hands. Those beautiful, long tapered fingers she loved.

She kissed the inside of his elbow, tasting the salt, feeling the pulsing, as shadows bathed the room in lavender softness, before the day would give way to intolerable heat.

Matt smiled without opening his eyes.  
"How long have you been awake?" he asked quietly.

"Not long, the redhead whispered as she got up.  
I guess you're going to leave," she sighed.

Matt reached out to bring her back beside him, causing the shirt to ride up high and easy on her thighs.

"Festus will do the rounds. I'm not expected back til this morning."

"It is morning, Cowboy. Does that mean we're sleeping in?"  
Kitty already knew the answer as his hands cupped her bottom and lifted her up, over him, and onto her back beside him.

 

###

"Can't sleep, Lieutenant?" came a voice behind the smoke.

"What?" A startled 2nd Lt. Heath Banks jumped.

Major Joseph Sheppard stepped through the fog wearing a silk smoking jacket, while puffing on a very large pipe.

"Sir!" the handsome young officer saluted as he came to attention.

"As you were."

The major puffed on his pipe as the tobacco burned a sweet cherry scent into the smoke-filled air.

"I love the morning before dawn, don't you? Before the formality of the official day begins.  
The major smiled and added, Do you remember this place?"

"I was trying to, sir. I can't seem to separate dreams from memories."

Sheppard observed the young man standing uneasily at ease.

"How long has it been since you've seen your father?" the major asked.

"I was eleven when my mother took me to France to be with her family.  
It was just after..."  
She died when I was sixteen, and then he sent for me."

After a pause, without prompting, the handsome young man continued.  
"I boarded at a military preparatory school before going to the Point, so I never associated with him."

Banks didn't say, "I never saw my father", he said, "I never associated with him", which is quite different, Joe Sheppard thought.  
He studied the young officer closely.  
Heath stood ramrod straight. He graduated at the top of his class, and he is clueless about the West.  
He is beautiful. And proud, and bold, and terrified.

The older man decided to change the subject.

"You and the others will enjoy your visit to Dodge City tonight. You must give my regards to Kitty Russell at the Long Branch Saloon. She owns the place and is someone you can trust."

Heath Banks looked puzzled. What can that mean, he thought.

"Good day, my boy."

"Good day, sir."

###

The sound of her beating heart matched beat for beat his own.  
One heart, one breath, in a rhythm of perfect harmony.  
They lay exhausted.  
His body perfectly fit over and around hers.

Finally, Kitty stretched her legs out, toes spreading in a kind of release, as Matt unfolded himself.

He sat on the bed with his feet on the cool floor, and wished they were together on a river bank so they could glide into a cold, swift current, holding on to each other as the water swirled around them.

Kitty's shiny red hair fanned over her shoulders as she lay on her stomach, on sheets wrinkled and damp.  
Matt brushed wet curls back from her forehead, and then began petting her back to sleep.  
He had to smile at the cute purring sound she made.

The big lawman picked up the blue shirt from the floor and hung it over the brass bedpost as he prepared to start another day as the US Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas.

###

Matt Dillon looked up from his desk when the door to his office opened. The man who entered did not look familiar, but the lawman knew who he was. Kitty and Doc were right, the military bearing was still there, but the neatly trimmed white beard gave Ross Banks a completely different look.

"Hello, Matt. I doubt you remember me," the gray haired man said as the marshal rose to meet him.

"Hello, Ross. Good to see you," Matt said, as he offered a handshake.

"Well, that beard might have had me fooled.

Have a seat. Can I get you a coffee?"

"No thanks.  
I guess you're surprised I came back after all this time."

"I met your son out at Ft. Dodge but didn't know at the time that you were in town. Heath will probably be in Dodge with his fellow troopers tonight. This is their weekend to paint the town red before they find out what the army has in store for them."

"Yes, their last taste of freedom for a while. I remember, Matt. I'm sure Kitty will look after the boy."

"She tells me you haven't seen him for a while."

"Only a few times over the years, Matt," Banks said.

"Listen Ross, Kitty told me about Adele. I'm sorry to hear that she died. It must have come as a shock."

"I didn't even know until several months later. Heath and I have never talked about it.

Well, I won't keep you, Marshal. I have to stop up at Doc Adams' office. Just wanted to say hello. You were always fair with me and I appreciated that."

"Stop by the Long Branch tonight. That's probably where you'll find your boy."

"I will, Matt," Ross Banks said as he stepped out of the office.

Matt watched from the window as Banks crossed Front Street, and for a moment remembered what an imposing figure the colonel had been.

###

"That there young feller cuts a swell, don't he? Mighty looksome," Festus said, lifting an eyebrow in the direction of 2nd Lt. Heath Banks.

"Why don't you ask him to dance," Doc said before winking at Kitty and sipping his beer.

"Very funny, you ol quackity-quack."

Kitty laughed at her old friends and continued to watch the handsome officer surrounded now by the Long Branch girls.

He is classically beautiful and thoroughly sexless, she thought. Just the opposite of my man.

"Montparnasse, between the sixth and fourteenth arrondissements," Banks said as the girls hung on his every word.

"Between the what and the what?" Festus asked.

"La Rive Gauche," Kitty replied.

Both Doc and Festus looked at her.

Seeing their expressions Kitty smiled and said, "Heath was asked about his life in Paris and he told them he lived in a district near the Left Bank."

"What kinda bank is that?"

"A river bank, Festus.  
The river Seine runs through Paris. The left bank is the southern half and the right bank is the northern."

"Then they should ought ta call it the south bank, Miz Kitty. If'in the south half is where he hails from, don't ya see."

"But the Seine runs east to west," Kitty explained.

"I plumb lost ya there."

"Well, Festus, if you faced west and held your arms out, your left arm would point south and your right arm would point north. It's simple, really, Kitty said, trying to hold back a laugh. Think of yourself as the river Seine."

The confused hillman began to hold his arms out and turn his body around in his chair.

Doc flinched as if ducking an arm and exclaimed, "By thunder, why don't you just take yourself down to the Arkansas and figure it out!"

Matt had walked up to their table after a look over at Heath Banks and a few other soldiers laughing and drinking with the girls, who all tried to get the young officer to dance.

The big lawman stopped and caught sight of his deputy. He took a seat between Kitty and Doc as Kitty grabbed Olive and told her to bring a bottle to the table.

"Oh, howdy there Matthew! We was just jawin' about Paris, France, don't ya know."

Matt's grin disappeared as he looked at Kitty and said, "Oh."

 

###

The music had stopped an hour ago. Some of the Long Branch girls were sitting with soldiers or rubbing their feet and the backs of their calves. A few had led the tired men back to their boarding house room or over to the Dodge House, where Howie handed them a key and said, "Now you be gone by morning. I don't want anyone to see you leaving here!"

"Well, I better check out the other places for damages and see how the boys I locked up are doing. I'll stop in after rounds, Kitty."  
Then Matt grinned and added, "It will be late. Will you wait up?"

"I always do."

Kitty watched him leave and Sam smiled at the exchange between his boss lady and the marshal. He had heard it more times then he could count.

"Quite a night, Miss Kitty."

"Sure was Sam, and only one broken chair," she laughed.

Kitty walked over to the table where Heath Banks rested his head on Olive's breasts. He had a silly smile on his face as he fondled the saloon girl and hummed along with her off-key murmur of a song that they had danced to over and over.

"Good night, Olive," Kitty said firmly.

"Come on, soldier boy."  
The tipsy girl managed to climb out of the young officer's lap and tug at his sleeve.

Kitty removed her hand and repeated, "Good night, Olive."

The girl started to protest, then changed her mind, as she grabbed Gert's arm and headed toward the door.

"I'll get her home, Miss Kitty. G'night. 'Night, Sam."

"Good night, ladies, Sam said. Coffee's almost ready, Miss Kitty."

"Thanks, Sam. Bring it over here with an extra cup for the Lieutenant," Kitty said as she took a seat.

"Heath?"

Bleary eyes tried to focus in the direction of her voice.

"How are you feeling, soldier?"

"Kitty Russell."

"That's right."

"Someone I can trust."

"What?"

"That's what the major said."

"Oh, I see."

Kitty smiled at the young man and brushed a lock of strawberry blond hair from his forehead. He gazed at her sweetly. "Gentillesse," he whispered.

"Here you are, Miss Kitty." Sam placed a tray on the table with coffee and some bread and cheese.

The young man watched her as she gracefully poured the coffee. Without asking how he liked it she added milk and sugar, and smiled as she set the cup and saucer down in front of him. Heath surprised her by taking her hand and bringing it up to his face. He held it there as he closed his eyes and smiled. Kitty did not pull it back.

After a long moment the redhead softly said, "I knew your mother, Heath. La mere. I was very sorry to hear that Adele had died."

Heath gently released Kitty's hand, and then picked up his coffee. He stared into the cup, not looking at Kitty.  
"She had red hair, too."

"Have you seen your father yet?"

"I don't even know where he is. I don't care."

"He's here, Heath. Your father is in Dodge."

The young man gave her a questioning look.

"Actually, he's here."

Kitty nodded and he turned around to see Ross Banks standing just inside the batwing doors.

"Good evening," the man said to Kitty has he removed his hat.

"Hello, Ross. Would you like some wine?"

"I think coffee, if you don't mind."

Father and son had not looked at each other. Kitty got up and Heath rose from his seat.

"That's better. Now shake your father's hand."

The soldier stood very straight, as if Kitty was his commanding officer, but made no attempt to extend his hand.

"Go on," she ordered.

Ross Banks held his hand out.  
"It's good to see you, son."

Heath glanced at Kitty's piercing blue eyes and then accepted his father's handshake.  
"Good evening, sir."

"Sit."  
Kitty went to the bar for another cup and saucer as the two men took their seats.

###

Kitty Russell stood on the balcony in her dressing gown and looked down at the two lone figures.  
The bottle of wine was nearly empty, and she knew the coffee pot was long ago.  
There were some crumbs of bread and cheese on the tray.  
The saloon owner had told Sam to lock up and she would let the father and son out. That was hours ago and she wanted to turn in.

Matt came out from her rooms, and then handed her a snifter of brandy. His vest and boots were off and his shirt tail was out. She knew he wanted to call it a night also.

"How much longer are you going to let this reunion last, Kitty?"

"They had a lot of catching up to do, Matt."

Heath Banks looked up and saw the pair at the railing above. He said something to his father and the two got up from the table, and then walked to the bottom of the stairs.

"We'll be leaving now. I'm sorry if we over-stayed, Miss Kitty."

"I'll let you out," Kitty said as she handed her brandy to Matt and started down the stairs.

The tired lawman got out of his clothes and sat up in bed sipping his brandy.  
Several minutes later, Kitty appeared and picked up the brush from her vanity while turning down the lights.  
He watched her graceful movements as she slipped out of her gown and in beside him with a big sigh.

Matt handed her his brandy and took the brush.  
He began brushing her long, red hair, occasionally leaning down to kiss her neck and shoulders.

"What took you so long, Kitty?"

"Remember the new Indian agent you were supposed to meet at Ft. Dodge?"

"Yeah. He was delayed. Supposed to arrive on Monday."

"He's here. It's Ross Banks, Matt."

Matt Dillon put the brush down and turned his lady to face him.  
"What?"

"It's true. The man court-martialed for selling bad rifles and bad whiskey to the Kiowa."

"So many died, Kitty. The tribes haven't forgotten who took the blame."

"You still think he protected some of his men, Matt?"

"I don't know. But it happened during his command, and the cover-up was his responsibility."

Kitty gave Matt the empty brandy glass and he placed it on the bedside table. She stayed against his chest gently running her hands over his body. They sank down on the pillows and fell into a deep, wet kiss.

Finally, Kitty said sleepily, "What was it you wanted to ask me about?"

"Oh, yeah," Matt said as he reached over to the table and held up a letter.  
"This."

Kitty recognized Sgt. Holly's letter of proposal and smiled.  
"Nothing you have to worry about, Cowboy."

###

Sam nodded in the direction of the office as the Marshal walked through the saloon, looking around.

"Kitty, I have to be going to..  
Oh, I'm sorry. I'll come back when you're finished."

"It's alright, Matt. You remember Hannah, don't you?"

Matt Dillon forced a smile as he removed his Stetson and said, "Sure. How do, ma'am.

I'll wait for you outside, Kitty."

"No need for that, Marshal. We're finished, Hannah said cheerfully. At least for now."

Matt stepped back and held the door as the two women walked into the saloon.

"Are you sure you can't stay just the one night, Hannah?" Kitty asked.

"No, I've booked the day return train. Tell Mr. Bodkin goodbye for me. Everyone has been very helpful. I'll make my decision soon."

Matt sat down at a table at the back of the Long Branch and Kitty was annoyed at what she considered an impolite action. Always the gentleman, it seemed uncharacteristic.  
Hannah did not seem fazed by it and the two women hugged warmly.

"Sounds like you have some real good ideas about expanding your investment in Dodge City when you return from Europe, Kitty.  
I'll be anxious to hear more about it."

Nervously, Kitty replied, "Oh, nothing to tell, yet."

She was aware that several people were listening to their exchange and was glad Nathan Burke wasn't one of them.

Kitty waved to Hannah from the boardwalk, and then walked back inside, heading straight to the bar. She pointed to a bottle of her special stock and Sam put it on a tray with two glasses.

The redhead could see Matt's pouty expression as she walked back to the table. He stood to hold out a chair for her as she placed the tray down.

"Well, I'm glad to see you haven't forgotten all your manners, Cowboy."

Matt ignored her. He leaned forward and said, "I'll be gone a few days, Kitty. There's trouble down by Big Basin and it looks like the Madison brothers may be involved. I'm riding out with a platoon from Ft. Dodge in the morning."

"I thought the Madisons were in a prison somewhere in Oklahoma, Matt."

"They were. Until about two months ago. They were last spotted near Ashland. That's where the recent Indian troubles started, and I'd bet anything they're behind it."

"Are you leaving now?"  
Kitty already knew the answer. He would be spending the night at Ft. Dodge.

Matt leaned forward and wrapped his hand around hers. They looked into each other's eyes without speaking, then he rose and with a few long strides, was gone.

###

"Tobeel, the Major told me these raiding parties were outfitted with rifles stolen by some white men that held up supply wagons meant for the Army. Do you know anything about that?"

The scout nodded and said, "same men."

"How did they know about the guns? They've only been out of prison a couple months and had to come up from Oklahoma."

Tobeel turned to his old friend and said, "ask agent."

"Now look, you can't go putting the blame on him for everything that happens, Tobeel. You should be quit of it by now."

The moment he said the words he wished he could take them back.

"I'm sorry, Tobeel. No one should forget what happened in those years after Medicine Lodge."

"That's for true," the Indian said.

Suddenly, Tobeel reined in his horse and stared intently at an outcropping of rocks and trees on the rise just ahead of them.  
Matt followed his gaze and listened for a warning sound.

But the sound came from behind them.

"Drop your guns. Left hand, nice and easy like."

The lawman and the scout turned to find Val Madison and two Indian braves holding rifles on them. They knew there would be more just ahead.

Slowly Matt and Tobeel dropped their pistols in the dirt. Two more braves appeared and pulled them down from their horses to stand over them with rifles aimed a few inches from their heads.

"Been a long time, Dillon."

"You and your brother can't get far, Madison. You know we're not out here alone."

"On your feet. There's some old friends waiting to see you."

Matt and Tobeel found themselves walking toward the rise, as other braves showed up along the way, all carrying new rifles. Matt looked at his friend, but the scout stared straight ahead.

###

"No sign of them, Lieutenant. Tracks head due west. Should we make camp and wait for them to cut back?"

"No, Sergeant, there's plenty of daylight yet. We'll rest and water the horses here, and then continue."

On the other side of the river, Cleve Madison and a group of Kiowa braves silently watched Lt. Heath Banks take a deep gulp of water from his canteen.

###

Through a thick fog, Matt Dillon could hear voices. His head throbbed and his neck and shoulders ached. He tried to focus his swollen eyes on the shadows in the fog. Indians speaking in low voices, punctuating the air with arms and hands. One familiar voice.  
Tobeel was in the center of the group trying to stand firm as a random brave would step up to shove him, while others seemed to be protecting him.

Matt tried to stand but became very dizzy. I've got to shake off this fog, he thought. He was aware of dried blood on his jaw and forehead.

"Here, drink this."

Matt took the dipper of cool water, drank some and then poured the rest over his head.  
He handed it back to Ross Banks.

"Don't worry about Tobeel, Matt. They gave me their word he would not be killed. I'll do what I can for you, but the Madison boys are itching to see you dead."

"What's your part in this, Banks?"

"Over twelve years ago I was paid handsomely for seeing that rifles, ammunition and other goods got into the hands of certain Indian traders. It allowed me to give my wife some of the finer things in life, even out in the frontier. I promised to end it, retire, and take her back to France in style."

"Then that huge shipment was due. I thought once the whiskey and guns got into the hands of the Kiowa and the traders, I would be finished with this business. One last big job.  
But it was a set-up, Matt. The powder was bad and the rifles jammed. The whiskey was poisoned."

Matt listened without commenting. He was aware that Tobeel was now standing behind him.

"I tried to warn them, Matt. I told the Indian Agent, Madison, about the trap. He was supposed to get word to the Kiowa chiefs."

"Madison. I remember there was an agent by that name but he left just before the trouble started," Matt said.

"Yes, Dean Madison. Val and Cleve are his sons. He submitted his resignation and moved his family to Oklahoma. He was killed in a shoot out over a poker game a few years later."

"The Marshal don't need to hear about our dear old pappy, Banks." Val Madison stood smiling at the three men.  
"How're you feeling, Dillon? Thought you'd still be out."

Matt ignored the outlaw and looked at Ross Banks.

"How can you be involved in this? he asked.  
You know a lot of innocent people will die. And your son could be one of them, Ross."

"In exchange for getting them the word about the shipment, they promised to leave Kansas. It was a way to make good on the last promise. Ever since the treaty of Medicine Lodge, bands of Kiowa braves have left the Oklahoma reservation to return for vengeance. Even some Comanche renegades have joined them. I knew things would continue to get worse and Heath would be in grave danger."

The man lowered his head and said, "I planned to turn myself in once they left the territory."

 

"Now ain't that a sweet story, Marshal?" Madison sneered.

"And what about settlers in the Oklahoma territory? They don't deserve the fate you're giving them," Matt implored.

Just then a brave ran up and said something to the outlaw, pointing to the rocks above them.  
The others looked up and saw a lookout waving a rifle. A moment later the sound of horses preceded a group of braves led by Cleve Madison, who road up and dismounted in front of his brother.

"Just like you thought, Val. Blue jackets riding this way. They'll be sitting ducks."

"Well now," Val Madison grinned, "Looks like we'll get to try out these fancy new firearms."

"Hold on now," Banks said. "You were supposed to lose them, remember? They will go back to the fort for fresh troops and start the search again in the morning. By then you'll be.."

"Shut up!"

Even Cleve Madison looked alarmed as he stared into the sinister face of his brother.

"Banks, you watch Dillon and the Indian. If they try anything, kill them."

"No, just shoot the marshal in the leg, Madison leered. I want to finish him off myself."

"Five bullets, Dillon. One for each year my brother and I spent in that rotten prison. You can start thinking on where the first one will go."

As the three men watched the others ride out, Matt said, "What about your son, Banks?"

"Heath is up north picking up Army deserters held in Hays City."

"No he's not, Ross. He is leading the troopers into Madison's ambush."

 

TBC


End file.
